Historic Preservation

One of West Seattle's newest historical landmark will soon be hosting events like a Halloween Silent Horror Movie Night, Sunday concerts with coffee and pastries and prix frixe dinners with local chefs.

Sanctuary at Admiral - a former Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist church - won historical landmark status from the city in a vote on Aug. 5, making it possible for the venue to obtain a conditional use permit for hosting events as an economic incentive to upkeep the property.

"We've finished the application process and are now waiting for the city to go over everything and give the go ahead," said proprietress Dahli Bennett.

In 2003 Bennett bought the 80-year-old church to live in with her three daughters. But using it as a residence there reverted the zoning to residential status.

After hosting a friend's wedding there in 2006, other events followed and the Sanctuary at Admiral as a venue was born. But under the residential status Bennett had to obtain special permits to host events on a case-by-case basis.

08/24/2009

Photo credit:

Photos by Megan McLaughlin

Sanctuary at Admiral - a former Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist church - won landmark status from the city in a vote on Aug. 5. The owner hopes to hold Sunday concerts and special movies nights there, among other events. CLICK PHOTO FOR ANOTHER IMAGE.

The Kenney's Seaview building, as well as the site it sits on, will henceforth be a historic landmark.

On Aug. 19, the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board voted unanimously to declare the Seaview building and site a landmark, with a number of exclusions, including the Sunrise building.

According to the members of the board, the Seaview building qualified because it is associated with a significant aspect of the cultural heritage of the community, in this case the history of retirement living facilities in Seattle.

It also embodies the distinctive visible characteristics of an architectural style or period, the board said.

The Seaview building is also an easily identifiable visual feature of the neighborhood and contributes to the distinctive identity of the neighborhood, according to the board.

The Sunrise building was excluded from landmark status, as was the Ballymena and Lincoln Vista.

08/20/2009

Photo credit:

Photo courtesy The Kenney

The Landmarks Preservation Board approved The Kenney's Seaview building as a historic landmark on Aug. 19.

Mayor Greg Nickels is looking for two new members to serve on the Landmarks Preservation Board, one architect position and one at-large position.

The 12-member Landmarks Preservation Board makes recommendations to the Seattle City Council for landmark designation and reviews all proposed physical alterations to designated features of landmark properties.

The board is composed of two architects, two historians, one structural engineer, one representative each from the fields of real estate and finance, one member from the City Planning Commission, a Get Engaged member, and three members at-large.

All appointments are made by the mayor, subject to city council confirmation.

Board meetings are held on the first and third Wednesdays of each month at 3:30 p.m. The architect members also serve on the board’s Architectural Review Committee. Board members generally must commit approximately 10 hours per month to board business.

Interested applicants must be Seattle residents, and board members serve without compensation. Those interested in being considered should send a letter of interest and resume by Sept. 15.

08/19/2009

The Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board will hold a hearing and vote today, Aug. 19 at 3:30 p.m. on whether to designate The Kenney's Seaview and Sunrise buildings as historic landmarks.

The hearing will take place in the Seattle Municipal Tower 700 5th Avenue, 40th Floor, Room 4060.

On July 15, the Landmarks Preservation Board unanimously approved a nomination to designate The Kenney's Seaview and Sunrise buildings as historic landmarks.

The building was self-nominated by the retirement home owners in hopes of preserving and protecting the buildings.

"We recognized the significance of the building in the West Seattle community," said Kevin McFeely, chief executive officer of The Kenney. "We wanted to make sure that as we use the building going forward we’d be able to acknowledge that it does have historical significance in West Seattle."

The Landmarks Preservation Board will spend the next few weeks touring The Kenney and will determine whether the buildings should be designated in a public hearing on August 19.

So that the public will not forget the contributions of us Rosie the Riveters I decided to organize a program to showcase what we did during WWII.

The first program was presented at Providence Mount St. Vincent. It was so well received that we decided to go on the road, so to speak. Our second program will be presented at Bridge Park Retirement Residence at High Point, Thursday, July 16 at 3 p.m.

People often ask who qualifies to be a Rosie the Riveter. According to the national organization, a woman is eligible as a Rosie if her work or volunteer services occurred during 1941 to 1945 and consisted of employment of any sort in an industry or government agency that was directly related to the war effort.

Flo Ringstad was a WAVE in the US Navy where she trained at boot camp in New York City, graduating at the top of her class. Elaine Russell was just out of high school and worked at Sears Roebuck filling orders for uniforms for all those other Rosies.

Chris Holm riveted on the B-29 bulkhead at Puget Sound Sheet Metal Works. Margaret Ceis riveted at Boeing Plant 2 in Renton on B-52 planes. She said she had one week’s training and worked for about two years.

07/10/2009

Photo credit:

Photo courtesy Georgie Bright Kunkel

The author in front of her mural at the Museum of Flight in 2005.

Treasured objects and artifacts held by the Log House Museum will be preserved for future generations with help from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Connecting to Collections Bookshelf, a core set of conservation books
and online resources donated by the IMLS.

IMLS has now awarded almost 3,000 free sets of the IMLS Bookshelf, in cooperation with the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH).

“The Connecting to Collections bookshelf is another great resource that the Log House Museum and Southwest Seattle Historical Society can utilize for better preservation and collections care” said director Andrea Mercado.

“When IMLS launched this initiative to improve the dire state of our nation’s collections, we understood that the materials gathered for the Bookshelf would serve as important tools for museums, libraries, and archives nationwide,” said Anne-Imelda Radice, director of IMLS. “We were both pleased and encouraged by the overwhelming interest of institutions prepared to answer the call to action, and we know that with their dedication, artifacts from our shared history will be
preserved for future generations.”

06/26/2009

The Fremont Neighborhood Council is hoping to gain neighborhood support to protect an 80-year-old fire station annex that may be torn down.

The annex to Fire Station 9 was built in 1921 and has been used to prepare and store oxygen tanks since the 1980s, according to a landmark nomination for the site prepared by Susan Boyle of BOLA Architecture and Planning.

The council has posted flyers around the Fremont neighborhood asking residents to write to the Landmarks Preservation Board and attend the July 1 board meeting to support the annex building, located at 3829 Linden Ave. N.

The city is looking to demolish the structure as part of a 2003 levy that created funding to replace, upgrade and renovate 32 neighborhood fire stations.

Both the annex and Fire Station 9, built in the 1950s, would be torn down and replaced.

The annex is a 2,300-square-foot concrete structure. It is stucco clad, and the raised piers at the outer corners of the parapet reflect design trends from the 1920s, according to the landmark nomination.

The Landmarks Preservation Board will review the Fire Station 9 Annex at 3:30 p.m., July 1 in Room 4060 of the Seattle Municipal Tower.

06/25/2009

Photo credit:

Michael Harthorne

One of the flyers posted by the Fremont Neighborhood Council asking residents to show their support for the 1920s annex to Fire Station 9. CLICK IMAGE FOR A HISTORIC PHOTO.

Dear Editor,

While I applaud Mr. Donat's enthusiasm for Ballard history (click here to read the story), either he was quoted incorrectly or there are some inaccuracies.

First of all, East Ballard was mainly industrial from Market to Salmon Bay, along 14th. Fourteenth was not known as "Railroad Avenue" for nothing! Actually, a 1905 Ballard newspaper complains about "Gypsies" living in tents along 14th, complete with a picture.

There were many houses below Market to Salmon Bay, as well as small stores, but the mills and shipyards took up all of the waterfront real estate. There are a bunch of new condos going up on 17th below Market where the Carlsen family owned four houses, a grocery store and butcher shop.

Secondly, where the Fred Meyer is currently was not residential; it was the site of an ironworks and foundry and the dump.

06/24/2009

Former general manager of the Alki Homestead, Chris Long, has signed a five-year lease to open a new neighborhood tavern called The Ship Wreck in the Admiral District, which will employ four of the former Homestead employees.

After the Homestead, famous for its fried chicken and family atmosphere, was shut down after a fire damaged the historic landmark on Jan. 16., co-owner Tom Lin said it was his goal to find work for the 10 employees left without work.

Lin said he wanted to be clear that the new bar, to be located on the 4200 block of Southwest Admiral Way across the street from the Metropolitan Market, is a temporary venture and a way to keep the Homestead employees together until he can re-open the Homestead.

He also wanted to make clear that he had no financial interest in the maritime-themed Ship Wreck. Long will be the owner while Lin acts as his advisor.

The menu at The Ship Wreck, which won't open until this fall, is yet to be determined.

"There won't be fried chicken, that's No. 1," said Lin.

06/22/2009

Photo credit:

Rebekah Schilperoort

A new neighborhood pub The Ship Wreck will open this fall where the TNT Tavern operated on Southwest Admiral Way. It will be owned by former general manager of the Alki Homestead Chris Long and employ staff from the historic landmark until it can be re-opened.